The X Factor UK (Series 1)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent; the winner of which receives a £1 million recording contract with the Syco Music record label. The first series was broadcast from 4 September to 11 December 2004. The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp and live shows, with Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell as judges. Kate Thornton presented the show on ITV, whilst Ben Shephard presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Auditions were held in Dublin, Newcastle, London, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow. The series was won by Steve Brookstein, with Cowell as the winning mentor. Brookstein went on to have minor chart success, with runners-up G4 achieving two platinum albums before splitting up in 2007. The judging panel consisted of Irish music manager Louis Walsh, music manager and television personality Sharon Osbourne and label head Simon Cowell, who conceived the idea to create a new talent show with a broader range of auditionees to its predecessor Pop Idol. Kate Thornton presented the show on ITV, whilst Ben Shephard presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Production Judges Twists/Changes Auditions: The audition age for this series was 16 and older and unlike its predecessor, groups could also audition. Auditions were held in Dublin, Newcastle, London, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow. Live Shows: In Week 6, each act performed twice in the first show (with the judges offering their opinions after the second songs), and reprised one of their songs in the results show. The act with the fewest public votes was eliminated at the end of the second show, with the judges no longer having a say in who left. Finalists Selection process Auditions See: List of The X Factor UK auditionees (series 1) Prior to the audition phase, advertisements appeared on ITV, in newspapers, and trade magazines, promising that the new show would encourage groups, and while the emphasis was on singing, would welcome those who played instruments and wrote their own songs. Thus the show would differentiate itself from its predecessor, Pop Idol. Auditions were held in Dublin, Newcastle, London, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow. Bootcamp See: Bootcamp (UK series 1) After the initial auditions, each judge was randomly allocated a category: *Simon Cowell: Over 25s *Sharon Osbourne: 16-24s *Louis Walsh: Groups Each judge chose twelve acts from their category to go through to round two of bootcamp. After bootcamp, each judge selected five acts to progress to "judges' homes". Judges' Houses See: Judges' Houses (UK series 1) Live Shows Results Summary Ratings Controversies It was reported in tabloid newspapers that the show's audition process was unfair after Walsh was accused of cheating. He was thought to have advised the group Co-Ed on things such as song choices, which caused controversy after it was revealed that he had actually previously managed Co-Ed after they appeared on the Irish version of Popstars in 2001. Around the same time, footage of Cowell and Osbourne coaching contestants to argue back to the judges was being auctioned over the Internet. Prior to the first live show, Osbourne accused Cowell of "rigging" the show by editing footage to make the contestants in his category more appealing to viewers. Osbourne attracted criticism again following the final in December 2004 when she was forced to make an apology after attracting what Cowell referred to as "record complaints" over an outburst by Osbourne in which she criticised eventual winner Steve Brookstein. This left her place on the show uncertain, although she returned for the second series in 2005. Despite finishing as runners-up, G4 have since referred to The X Factor as "just panto". Trivia * Both the winning act and runner-up performed different potential winner's singles. This would not happen again until the 2010 series. * This was the only series to include nine acts in the live shows (excluding X Factor: Battle Of The Stars) Category:The X Factor UK Category:The X Factor UK (Series 1) Category:Series